


Together, We Make Quite a Team

by cosmicglitter



Series: Vet Clinic AU [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Byleth uses they them pronouns, Claude is also nonbinary, Claude writes articles on rare flora and fauna, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, F/M, M/M, Nonbinary My Unit | Byleth, Ship tags added as they appear, byleth is a wildlife photographer, chapters are labeled with the primary ship, even if leopard seals are terrifying, everyone is happy, honestly almost every fe3h character will be here, idk how to tag in a not obnoxious way, it’s kinda cute, mostly - Freeform, they get assigned to work in the Antarctic, together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-01-30 09:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21426205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicglitter/pseuds/cosmicglitter
Summary: Byleth is a wildlife photographer. Claude writes articles and does research in rare flora and faunaChance happens and they end up paired together on assignments.Marianne is a veterinarian, and so is Mercedes. One runs and clinic, the other works at a zoo.Hilda works from home, Felix is an accidental animal ambassador, Caspar and Petra are firemen, and one couple has a 101 dalmatians meet-cute.Somehow everything gets criss-crossed, and everyone is meeting everyone, and dates are happening, relationships starting or healing or thriving, or all of the above.And everything somehow has something to do with animals.(Planned ships, though not necessarily in this exact order: Claude/Byleth, Hilda/Marianne, Caspar/Linhardt/Ashe, Leonie/Bernadetta, Ingrid/Mercedes, Sylvain/Felix, Lorenz/Ferdinan, Ignatz/Raphael  , Shamir/Catherine, Dedue/Dimitri , Annette/Lysithea , Dorothea/Petra and possibly more)
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Linhardt von Hevring, Caspar von Bergliez/Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert, Caspar von Bergliez/Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Linhardt von Hevring, Caspar von Bergliez/Linhardt von Herving, Ferdinand von Aegir/Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, Leonie Pinelli/Bernadetta von Varley, Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril, My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Series: Vet Clinic AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1544686
Comments: 21
Kudos: 54





	1. Claude/Byleth - Part 1. You’re a picture worth a thousand words

**Author's Note:**

> Thank g o d for my friend [ mandy ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mandkips/pseuds/Zen) who came up with this idea and let me run rampant with it. And THANK U to [hallie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/exosolarmoon) for beta'ing most of this fic for me (half of it isn't beta'd bc i'm impatient and that's my fault, whoops. I'll be better for later chapters hopefully)
> 
> What happens when your friend messages you and says 'I was watching reality tv with a vet and I relized I wanted an au where it’s linhardt marianne and Ashe and they run a vet clinic' and then they let you go ham on this idea and now everyone has a job with animals and everything is buck wild. 
> 
> There's a research and rehab zoo, a veterinarian hospital, a horse rescue and show stables, therapy dogs, and probably more. 
> 
> I haven't written fanfic in fifty million years lets GO

There are not many things in this world Claude hates. Capitalism, health insurance, criminalization of homelessness, and... Okay. so maybe there are a lot of things he hates. With a small grimace, he rolls his shoulders to dislodge snow that had fallen and built up in his hair. But what of it? Snow though? Right now, snow is at the top of that list. Fuck snow.

Ice, the cold, snow? All of it can take a long walk off a short bridge. And yet somehow he’s in Antarctica, writing an article about the impact of melting ice on wildlife.

He shivers again and grumbles quietly. One of the scientists is sitting nearby, taking samples of ice and summarizing her notes about the penguin count she did the other day, and she laughs. “Still not used to the cold?”

“I’m like my reptiles, I like the sun and the heat.” He flashes his most charming grin at her, and they both go back to taking notes.

So far, the best part of this trip has been the photographer he was paired with. This was their second posting together, and they really jived well. Their last piece together was a hit. Both the blog article and the published scientific journal.

They were one hell of a photographer, taking risks most of the people he’s worked with wouldn’t dare consider. When he’d first worked with them, they’d been photographing and recording data about incredibly deadly venemous snakes. After they’d parted ways he’d shamelessly looked up Byleth online. They were definitely one of the best photographers he’d ever seen, and Claude had worked with many. Their portfolio was filled with an assortment of rare and dangerous flora and fauna. To call it simply impressive was to damn it with faint prasie.

And all that was nothing in comparison to the person taking the photos. Byleth was not a tall person, but you wouldn’t know it at first glance. Their confidence alone is enough to make you think they’re ten feet tall, when in reality they’re half a foot shorter than he is, and he is not a tall man.  
Their teal hair is almost always bound back away from their face which only draws attention to the vibrant sea green of their eyes. Subtle expressions that were hard to catch, and a laugh he prided himself on being able to draw from them.

Working together with them had been an enjoyable experience, thats for certain.

Except this time, Byleth wasn’t sitting next to him keeping him company. He was just watching them though a go pro live feed that was hanging from a float about ten feet away from Byleth. Also it was underwater. Like Byleth. Because they had decided they wanted to take pictures of animals underwater. In the Antarctic.

Because that wouldn’t be mind numbingly cold or anything.

So far they hadn’t had much luck; he hasn’t seen anything from the live feed except Byleth just floating there. None of the penguins had swam by yet.

“Bored, are ya?” The scientist from earlier raises an eyebrow at him.

“I can’t be the only one—you’re counting up tallies instead of looking at penguins today.” He can see the scientist roll her eyes. He should probably ask her name but he’d forget it anyway. There’s like forty scientists stationed at this research site they’re visiting and he never sees any of them for very long.

“The paperwork isn’t so bad, but I have no idea how you’re going to make an interesting article out of this,” she says, packing away her notes while she talks.

“It could be worse,” Claude laughs. And then chokes on his laugh.

Because there’s something other than just Byleth on the live feed. And it’s a very large something.

“Holy shit that’s a leopard seal. That’s amazing!”

Standing over his shoulder and peering into the monitor displaying the live feed, the scientist next to him has dropped her notes entirely and is now calling over her fellows to look at the feed with her.

Claude, meanwhile, is filled with unholy terror because, _uh,_ _that seal is three times as long as Byleth is tall_.

And it just tried to fit Byleth’s camera, and their head, in its mouth.

“Is that.. normal behavior? For a leopard seal?” He hopes his voice doesn’t betray the strain he’s feeling, because Sothis help him, that’s a very, very big seal. And Byleth has turned to follow it with their camera, and is making no move to get out of the water.

“No clue, this is the first time we’ve seen one interact with a diver in the water like this,” was the absent minded reply. “We don’t get many scuba divers here.”

No surprise there.

What follows is the most stressful and anxiety inducing sixty minutes of his life, which is saying something, considering everything his profession involves him being near is dangerous.

On one hand, Claude knows Byleth is safe. The dive supervisor hasn’t reacted with panic and she’s in contact with Byleth through a headset.

On the other hand, Claude doesn’t handle inaction well.

He alternates between walking around to warm up and sitting and staring at the live feed. Or he did, until he sat back down from a round of pacing to find himself looking at a seal, and very murky red water, and no Byleth.

To say his blood froze would be hyperbole, because everything is frozen and snow is evil, but it’s not far off.

He’s frantically looking toward the dive supervisor when the seal moves away from the camera and Claude can see that Byleth is safe.

Flopping down gracelessly into the chair he was sitting in before, he rests his head in his hands and groans.

One of the scientists nearby pats him on the shoulder and continues making notes about the leopard seal’s behavior.

Claude checks his watch, and there’s forty more minutes of this agony to go before Byleth surfaces.

Waiting is almost as bad as snow.

-

Somehow in the interim of everything, Claude manages to get a decent outline for his article, waiting only on information and photos from Byleth to flesh it out and add the finishing flourishes he’s known for. Head bent over his writing, it takes him a moment to realize there’s a flurry of activity where Byleth’s dive area is, and that they’re finally surfacing.

He stays put, knowing he won’t be the least bit helpful, and waits patiently for Byleth to come and change into dry and warm clothes before he launches into questions.

It’s not long before he hears footsteps crunching in snow and Byleth sits next to him, hands wrapped around a flask of something steaming hot in their gloved hands.

“That leopard seal tried to feed me a penguin.”

Claude chokes on a laugh, “it what? Really?”

Byleth, face straight like they’re dealing cards at a poker table, nods. Pausing to sip from their drink, the corner of their mouth quirks up in what, in anyone else, would be a full blown grin.

“It herded two live penguins my way before bringing me a dead one and pushing it at me.”

Claude, quickly jotting down notes as they talk, can’t help but shake his head. “I’m guessing you didn’t eat the penguins huh?”

“Unfortunately, my mask got in the way.” Byleth downs the rest of their flask while Claude keeps making notes and asking questions. Wanting to make sure he gets as much of this in their article as possible.

They work well together and it doesn’t take long before their back and forth produces something he’s confident will turn out amazing, although Byleth’s pictures are going to steal the show.

They lean over and show him a photo that’s basically the inside of the leopard seal’s jaws. “She tried to eat my camera. It’s even got teeth marks on it now.”

Claude shakes his head at them and leans back in his chair. He’d noticed the first time they worked together that Byleth was daring, even for their field, but this was beyond the pale.

“Were you even a little afraid? That seal was massive.” He’s curious, though he’d bet money on their answer.

“No, not really,” they say, shrugging away the idea.

A bet he would have won.

“You are surreal.”

“Thank you.”

—

The trip back to Fódlan is uneventful and he and Byleth have already sent off the article and photos to the proper places, so there’s not much to do.

So they play cards.

It turns out Byleth is very good at cheating at cards, and chess, and checkers.

Sitting on the frigid deck with a checkers board between them, and he’s long since stopped trying to win and now he’s just trying to catch them at their cheating.

“I saw that!”

Byleth deadpans, “No clue what you’re talking about.”

“You just added three of your own pieces back to the board.” He huffs, exaggeratedly indignant, and it earns him a subtle hint of a smile.

“Prove it.” And, in full view not even hiding it, they take two of his pieces off the board.

“Very funny.”

They sit there bickering back and forth for a while, and there’s only a few hours left before they’re back on the mainland and go their separate ways. He’s been trying all week to ask for their number, and so far he’s not quite managed it.

Oh, who was he kidding, he’s barely even tried. He wants to be subtle about it but they’re so hard to read, it leaves him at a loss.

And the hours tick on by.

And they dock.

And there’s a helicopter for him, and a car for them.

And they go their separate ways.

It’s not until he’s safely at home, checking in on his reptile collection and texting Hilda to let her know he’s back and to see if she wants to go with him to take his Tegu in for a checkup that it sinks in that he did not get their number.

He falls back into his couch with a loud huff, to the mild indignation Pesto the Tegu who is now running around the house gleefully.

“Dammit.”

—

Hilda met him for dinner the next day at Pancakes4U, the best junk breakfast house around. In between bites of waffle and sips of terrible coffee he told her about how the trip went.  
She was the perfect audience for this sort of story, gasping at the leopard seal and cooing at the pictures of penguins he showed her.

But, as always, she was far too clever at reading between the lines, even when he didn’t realize there was something to be read.

“Every other thing you’ve said for the past hour has been about your photographer,” Hilda sighed dramatically and waved her fork in the air. “Did you even get their number?”

Claude winced, “they aren’t my photographer. And why on earth would I wan-”

“You’ve got it so bad you didn’t even get their number,” Hilda rolls her eyes, and scoffs. “You haven’t dropped the ball like that with someone you were into since freshman year of college.”

Claude glares half heartedly at her. “Ugh, if you’re going to keep laughing at me I’m not letting you come with me to take Pesto to the vet.”

He’s got her with that one, her face turns almost as pink as her hair she’s blushing so much.

“I don’t even like your weird frog monster”

“Tegu”

“Named Pesto, I am aware.” She’s still blushing as she glares at him. “It’s not my fault your vet is hot and I am gay and have no pets.”

“I keep telling you to just ask Marianne to get dinner with you, she’s nice. She might even say yes.”

Claude ducks as Hilda chucks a packet of wannabe-sugar at his head, and the glare from the waitress is enough to get them to pay for their meals and leave. Still giggling as they duck out of the door.

“Please tell me you gave her a nice tip to make up for that?”

  
“I left a 20”

  
“Good man”

  
“You know it.”

-

It’s a quick trip back to his place to pick up Pesto and then on to Blue Paw’s veterinary hospital. It’s a nice little building, appropriately themed with bright blue roof and a blue paw print on the sign out front.

Ashe is working the counter today and he greets them with an excited hello before dipping back behind a door and calling for Marianne.

“Linhardt’s busy doing a house call out to Leonie’s stables or he’d come say hello to Pesto too,” Ashe says with a bright smile.

“Just Pesto huh?” Claude shakes his head, “I see how it is.”

“Well we wouldn’t want to forget to say hello to Hilda of course,” a sweet voice chimes in.

Marianne steps into the room with quiet grace, and Hilda flushes from the tips of her toes to the crown of her forehead. Claude muffles a snort.

“What does that make me then?”

“Pesto’s taxi driver?” Hilda grins at him sweetly while Marianne and Ashe laugh.

“Haha, very funny. I guess no one wants to hear about the amazing everything I saw on this trip huh?”

After a few moments of humor filled placating, Claude and Pesto are in a back room getting Pesto checked over and affirming his clean bill of health.

It doesn’t feel like it takes, long, but it’s long enough that when they step out to the lobby area he can hear Hilda and Ashe giggling furiously.

“And the whole time we’re eating he’s practically drooling over this person he’s met twice and still doesn’t have their number.” Hilda’s leaning on the counter, legs crossed and flipping her hair in the air to add emphasis to her words.

“Oh no, poor Claude, “ Ashe shakes his head, and then turns bright red when he sees Claude in front of him.

“Hilda, what?”

She has the gal to turn toward him with a wink, “oh hey Claude, I was just telling Ashe about your crush on that hot photographer. What was their name again?”

“I do not have a crush on anyone, you’re being silly. And their name is -” his reply is cut off by Ashe’s greeting.

“Byleth! Hi, what brings you in today?”

Claude turns around slowly, grateful beyond words he doesn’t blush like his friend’s do. Because, sure as sunshine, there’s Byleth. Teal hair loose, wearing the strangest outfit he’s ever seen; fish print leggings and cut off overalls over a purple shirt. And holding a large and shaking cat carrier.

Byleth looks at him and blinks, “Claude?”

He nods. “Is this your vet?” He’s still staring at them, just, struck with disbelief that the person he’s been talking about non stop since meeting Hilda for dinner is here. In his vet’s office. The one run by his friends.

“Yup,” and Byleth raises the cat carrier in their hand by way of emphasis.

Claude can hear a loud, hideous snarling yowl coming from the depths of the cat carrier, and without thinking, inches a little bit further away. “Does it usually make that sound?”

Byleth closes their eyes, as if to will themselves more strength, and sighs. “Yes.”

Marianne steps around him and takes the carrier from Byleth, “I’ll take Sothis on to the back. Is it just the check up shots?”

“Can you check her teeth? She chewed through another window while I was gone.” Byleth says this without even a twitch to indicate exaggeration and Claude has to catch himself from having his jaw drop.

“Oh dear, another one? I’ll make sure to check on her, not to worry Byleth.” And with that Marianne steps around to the back, taking the now quiet demon cat with her.

Claude and Byleth are staring at each other, almost awkwardly. Ashe or Hilda coughs, he’s not sure which. And there’s so many things he could say, but all he can think of is, “your cat chewed through multiple windows?”

It was the right thing to say, he thinks, judging from the tiny smile that escapes Byleth.

“Sothis is a very determined cat,” they shrug, and whatever awkwardness in the air seems to dissipate. He can hear Hilda and Ashe chatting in the background but all he can really see is Byleth.

“Do you live around here?”

They nod, “yes. Further in the woods than in the city.”

He grins, “somehow I didn’t picture you as a city person anyway.”

“You pictured correctly it sounds like,” they shrug, and look down at their outfit, and then at his. Cutoff overalls compared to a button up and nice jeans. It was an interesting contrast, and he raised an eyebrow at them.

It’s a heartbeat or two of silence between them, and then they speak at the same time.

“Do you wanna get dinner?”

“Want to exchange numbers?”

At that they both break into smiles, real ones, and he can hear Byleth laugh. He reaches into his pocket and hands them his phone, as they hand him theirs.

At that moment Marianne slips back into the room, Byleth’s demon cat safely in the carrier again. They thank her, and then look at Claude for a moment in contemplation.

“Text me when and where for dinner tomorrow. I have to take Sothis home, she hates being in the carrier.”

“Count on it,” and he winks as they roll their eyes and slip outside.

Hilda and Ashe high five as Marianne takes Pesto out of his crate to give him one last scratch before he and Claude head home.

“Well, that was certainly something.”

“Yeah,” Claude says, lost in thought as he watches their car drive away. “They really are.”


	2. Hilda/Marianne - Part 1. Something About You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hilda just wanted breakfast and gossip, and Claude has a Byleth-emergency and her day goes weirder from there.  
Leonie is her go to friend when Claude isn't around, because Leonie is good at listening. Mostly.  
Events happen, and animals happen, and in between road rage and animal adorableness some good things happen for her?  
It's a whole day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The most big thank you to
> 
> [Mandy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mandkips/pseuds/Zen) for sharing this idea with me and letting me run with it. And THANK!!! To [hallie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/exosolarmoon) for beta-ing this for me. I'm learning I do not at all know how to use commas in a gramattically correct way. 
> 
> ANYWAY  
On with the fic, slight warning for mentions of people being awful to animals but there's nothing graphic and no harm. People are just bad and Hilda wants to murder.

It’s obnoxiously early on a Tuesday, and Hilda is sitting on her bed painting her nails. It’s a very impromptu beautification session, because she works from home and would not typically be caught dead awake before 11 am on a ‘I am not doing work today’ day.

She grumbles and fidgets impatiently while glaring at her phone and waiting for her nails to dry. Claude was _ supposed _ to have texted her by now so they could pick a place for breakfast, she was eager to hear more about how things were going with Byleth honestly. It’s been almost five minutes since she’d texted him asking where the heck he was, and he was typically the sort to reply back right away.

All of this was to say that she started painting her nails because it was that, or worry, and worrying was a big no thanks. 

It was only moments after starting to layer on a top coat of polish that her phone buzzed to life. It was through sheer skill she managed to cap the polish, answer her phone and set it at the crook of her shoulder without getting it caught in her hair, and then uncap the polish and continue to finish her nails. All without smudging a single nail. 

She was a woman of many, oddly specific, talents. 

“Claude, you better have a good reason for whatever is up.” The ‘hmph’ she adds at the end of that statement is entirely necessary for emphasis and not at all because she’s covering for worry that something is up. 

“Actually, I kind of do? I hope.” Claude sounds sheepish, rather than strained, and immediately all of Hilda’s non-existent worry drains away. 

“Spill it, you owe me for making me wake up early and no breakfast. I’m gonna just assume breakfast and gossip is a no-go today?” 

Hilda shifts and leans further back so she can get comfortable, and stretches out a hand to admire the finished manicure in the sunlight through her window as she listens to Claude explain about a weird call from Byleth and how he’s going to their house and blah-blah such and whatever. 

Don’t get her wrong, she’s glad for him, but those two are something else. 

“Can it loverboy, just text me when you’re free after so I know you didn’t get murdered or eaten by Byleth’s demon cat.” She huffs a little sigh, and she can practically hear Claude rolling his eyes on the other end. 

“We can do breakfast another day. Your treat of course,” she adds cheekily. He always pays anyway, but it’s fun to say anyway. 

She can hear him laughing on the other end, and they say their bye’s and hang up as Hilda swings her legs over the side of her bed and stretches. 

‘Ugh, so much effort and I’m too awake to laze the day away,’ she sighs to herself and looks through her closet for something to wear. It doesn’t take long to decide what to do, and she sends Lorenz a quick text to see if he or Leonie is at their stables today. 

When she gets a reply, overly wordy as always, from Lorenz saying Leonie is there and has free time ‘til later this afternoon, Hilda smiles. 

“Perfect!” is the reply she sends, and then she drops her phone on her bed so she can go get dressed and ready and be on her way. 

(She gets an essay reply from Lorenz but she doesn’t read it for another couple of hours, because honestly Lorenz. She _ does not _have time to read ten paragraphs of why he isn’t there because he’s at the zoo with Ferdinand.)

  
  


\---

It’s another two hours before Hilda is finally at Leonie’s horse ranch and stables, The Golden Horseshoe. 

(She personally thinks its a silly name for a stable, but can admit it’s better than the many alternatives she’s heard Lorenz pitch, so she knows better than to say anything. Hilda still rolls her eyes at the sign as she drives up the path.) 

She’s leaning against the fence, chattering away at Leonie about nothing and everything while simultaneously trying to ignore the unpleasant smells that come from being near so many large farm-type animals. Her white ribboned sun hat is perfectly pinned on her head to prevent hat hair, and her dress is definitely not farm appropriate but it’s decidedly country chic, just to play into the aesthetic for the day. Also because she refused to wear anything she really, really liked when she visited the stables. One bad experience and a ruined outfit was lesson enough thank you very much. 

From where she’s leaning, Hilda can watch as Leonie puts Dorte through his paces, and although she knows nothing about horses, she knows Marianne’s Dorte. The great big Clydesdale and former parade horse that Marianne had rescued was now the sweetest star of Leonie’s horse therapy sessions. Hilda had never been to one of those sessions, but Leonie and Marianne had let her feed Dorte a slice of watermelon once, and he was very well mannered about it, delicately taking the slice away and not being fast or overeager or anything. It was enough to make her change her mind about horses, mostly. 

(Lorenz’s show horses still made her a little uneasy. She was entirely convinced they lived to scare her, so she refused to walk past where their areas were anymore, which was fine.)

Hilda watches as Leonie lead Dorte to the fence where she was leaning, and leans over the top rail to stretch out a hand and cautiously pat him on the neck. Leonie rolls her eyes, and unhooks something from the halter-thingie she’s been using to lead him around and gives Dorte a pat. She then hops the fence to stand next to Hilda, ignoring her small squeak of alarm. 

“There’s a perfectly good gate like two feet futher down ya know,” Hilda whines at her, and needlessly readjusts her hat before leaning back against the fence next to Leonie. 

“Yeah yeah, that gate we keep ziplocked up now ‘cause our new rescue learned how to unlatch it.” Leonie says this with only the slightest of grimaces, but Hilda tilts her head in a mixture of curious alarm. 

“Horses can do that?!” The ‘that’s terrifying’ is left unsaid, but Hilda feels like it’s obvious how she feels. 

And it must be, because Leonie just sputters out a laugh. 

“Yeah, sometimes. But this is a little different.” She wipes the sweat from her forehead with the bottom of her shirt and then stands upright, and reaches over to take Hilda’s hand. “Come on, wanna see ‘em?” 

Hilda wrinkles her nose at the feeling of Leonie’s sweaty hand in hers (and also at the smell because she still can’t convince her to wear some damn deodorant, ugh) but lets herself be pulled along anyway. “As long as we don’t have to go by the show horses,” is her only stipulation, and she’s relieved when Leonie nods.

“Yeah no worries there, he’s in this first stable. Linhardt is gonna come by later to check on ‘em and I don’t wanna waste his time by chasing the new rescue down and herding him in a stall.” 

Leonie’s boots make tiny clouds of dust appear as she tromps down the well worn and clear path from the fenced in area to the first stable, Hilda half trotting to keep up.

Hilda thinks not for the first time that it’s a really nice stable, for well, a stable. Whitewashed walls and the smell of hay and well water fills the air and with no breeze blowing the scent of what’s shoveled away into the stables currently it’s not altogether so bad. 

She’s looking around for which stall the new horse is in, eyes above top rail level trying to spy a tell-tale pair of triangular ears, when Leonie comes to a stop. At a seemingly empty stall. Hilda looks at her, brow wrinkled in confusion, when she hears a funny wickering from inside the stall Leonie is leaning over the door into. 

Hilda notes the zipties on this door too, before cautiously peering into the stall, and then cooing without a second thought, because, “Oh my god, he’s so cute!” 

In the stall is a tiny horse? Pony? He’s all legs, and big ears, and from how he’s prancing at the sight of them, all energy too. White, with black splotches all over and big brown eyes, and he’s _ adorable. _

Leonie is watching Hilda’s delight with a smile as she leans over to give the pony-horse pets and attention. It’s when she sighs quietly that Hilda’s attention is brought back to her. Now, there’s some things that Hilda is decidedly oblivious to, but her she can read people like nobody's business. So the tension in Leonie’s shoulders and the crinkle between her eyebrows all adds up to something not so good. 

“What’s the bad news about this little guy? And, not to sound like a total city girl, but what is he anyway? I’ve never seen a horse like that before, and you’ve shown me a lot of them.” She keeps her tone light, a smile on her face to try and help alleviate any tension, encouraging a joke or two even maybe.

It works, because Leonie’s smile returns, and she pulls back from the whatever horse thing that is and leans her back against the wood paneling making up the walls of the stall before looking at Hilda. 

“That little guy is a mule, maybe six months old? He’s little for a mule though, the horse he’s parented from must've been a shorter one cause he’s not gonna get that big.” Frown returning, she continues, “He got dumped in some wooded lot, probably by someone who bought him without realizing how much space and food he’d need.” She shakes her hand at the air, and sighs. 

It’s only through a lot of work that Leonie has managed to redirect her frustrations in a positive light, and there’s so many things she’s better about than she once was, but stuff like this will always made her see red. “Marianne heard about it and gave me a call, and now he’s here.”

Frowning, Hilda turns back to look at the little thing - mule, she corrects herself mentally. It’s so cute, and she can get the appeal, but like... She doesn’t have a pet specifically because she understands they are _ so much work, _so why doesn’t everyone else get it? 

“Marianne is amazing,” she sighs quietly, and when Leonie huffs, Hilda blushes and scoffs. “Oh you know what I meant. You both are. I don’t know how you do so much good stuff, it’s so much work.” She doesn’t have to look at Leonie to know she’s rolling her eyes. 

“You know what I mean though, and I don’t understand how so many people just.. don’t get it. Animals are too much work, even if they’re all so cute.” She wrinkles her nose, and amends her statement, “Almost all; most of them are cute. I draw the line at Claude’s screaming blob monster.” 

“You mean his giant frog?” Leonie chokes out her question once she’s got her laughing under control. 

“That’s what I said.” 

Leonie only snorts.

They linger there for a few minutes longer before deciding to get lunch. It’s nothing fancy, just stepping into a kitchenette built into the upstairs loft of the stable and making some sandwiches, then grabbing a bagged salad and throwing it all on plates. The quiet is comfortable, if a bit heavy. 

Hilda chows down on her salad with gusto; she did miss breakfast after all. It’s not long after they finish and she’s sipping at her water that Leonie props her head on her hands, elbows up on the table, and gives her a _ look. _

Hilda can just guess what’s coming next. 

“So… have you asked Marianne on a date yet?” Her smug grin is enough to make Hilda groan.

“Ugh, these things take time! I have to be smart about it after all.”

Leonie’s grin does not become any less smug, and Hilda sinks into her chair and pouts. 

“Hilda you’ve been mooning over her for months. Ya gotta make a move eventually.” 

“Since when are you the romance expert?” Okay so, she may have a point, but that doesn’t mean Hilda had to admit it.

It’s only when Leonie’s smile drops a little that she winces. 

“I don’t have to be an expert to know that if you don’t do anything, nothing is gonna happen,” she says with a shrug. 

  
Whatever reply Hilda would have had is cut off by the sound of a car driving up, and Leonie launching out of her chair and checking the time. “Fuck, sorry Hilda, my lesson is in 15 and Ingrid specifically planned it for her at a time when no one else would be here. I gotta -”

Hilda raises her hands, and smiles. “No worries, I’m out of your hair like I was never even here. Thanks Leonie.” 

After a quick dash down the stairs, she gives her a cheeky wave and walks down the path to where her car is as Leonie splits off to walk over to the car that just drove up. Through the windshield she can see Ingrid’s familiar blonde hair, but she doesn’t recognize the person sunk down in the seat next to her. Shrugging it off (not her business), she slips into her driver’s seat and heads back home. 

\--

The drive home is easy, windows down and Carly Rae Jepsen playing loud enough to make her rearview windows shake slightly to the thrum of the music. There’s no real traffic which is a goddess given gift, road rage was something she was still working on. 

And then she pulled into the parking lot for her apartment complex and had to slam on her breaks as a car pulled out in front of her, throwing a box out the window before zipping through the stop sign and speeding away. And _ now _ Hilda’s blood is boiling, because what in the actual fuck.

She’s seething as she parks her car in the closest spot, maneuvering carefully around the box, and she counts to ten to get her mind in check before doing anything else. When she’s not grinding her teeth and contemplating ax murder, she slips out the car and walks over to the box, planning to pick it up and throw it in the bin so it doesn’t cause anyone to swerve out of the way and get into an accident or anything. 

Carefully she bends over to look at the box, checking to make sure it’s not like, a dead body or drugs or anything she doesn’t want her fingerprints on. So she’s prepared for odd, but what she is not prepared for, is the tiny plaintive mew, that comes from the box. 

“Fuck.” Hilda’s eyes grow wide as she lifts up the box with unsteady hands and looks inside. 

Somehow she’s made her way back to her car, because she’s slumped against the side of it and looking at the tiny calico kitten in the box. It’s so small she could hold it in the palm of one hand, and it’s looking at her and trembling. It’s big green eyes and heart shaped black splotch around one eye are enough to have her trembling right back. 

“Oh no, oh fuck.” She’s shaking more now as the tiny thing lays its head back down and stops meowing. Her heart is in triple time now, and she thinks of the car, the people that did this, and she’s so mad she could spit. But she can’t get mad, because there’s a tiny little living thing in her arms and oh no. Oh no, no, no. She doesn’t know what to do.   
  
And it’s not until she sees water droplets on the cardboard that she realized she’s crying, this is so out of her wheelhouse and Claude is busy and she can’t foist this off on him and oh no, fuck. 

The thought of Claude makes her remember veterinarians exist, and then.. 

She’s in the driver’s seat of her car and carefully buckling the kitten’s box in the passenger seat before driving off as quickly and safely as she can. Directly toward Blue Paw’s Veterinary Clinic. 

“Please, please let Marianne be in today,” she mumbles, trying not to think about anything except that Marianne will know what to do, she’s a vet, and she’s nice, and the thought of her is about the only thing keeping Hilda from full panic. Someone will know what to do, and that someone she can go to hand this problem to happens to be a someone with pastel blue hair and a kind smile who loves animals. 

She pulls into the first available space she finds, the whole parking lot is empty except for the employee cars and she’s grateful for it. Carefully she picks up the kitten box before dashing inside.

Ashe’s usual cheerful greeting is cut from a, “Hello!” to a gasp, and he quickly steps around the front counter over to her, “Hilda did something happen? What’s wrong?” 

It didn’t occur to her that she must look a mess, she didn’t wear waterproof anything today so her eyeliner and mascara must be a drippy mess, and now that she thinks about it her hat came loose at some point and it’s definitely not on her head now. And then there’s the box in her arms, which is the only really important thing.   
  
“Ashe is Marianne here? Please, I need her to help, please Ashe?” And she must sound strained or something because he just nods at her with a small reassuring smile, and steps through the door to the animal care rooms to grab Marianne. 

Hilda is left alone in the lobby, and is emphatically glad there’s no one else at the clinic right now, because this is so much and she doesn’t know what she’ll do if the kitten isn’t going to be okay. 

She realizes then that they’re probably starting to close up for the day—it’s later than she realized—and she’s stupidly impossibly grateful Ashe is a good friend who didn’t just boot her out the door. 

“Hilda, Ashe said you were asking for me - oh.”

Marianne steps through the door, Linhardt close behind, and walks over to Hilda. Marianne’s gentle voice is a balm to her frayed nerves she didn’t know she needed. 

Without any prompting, Hilda holds out the box to her and Ashe, and they can both see the tiny unmoving kitten inside of it.

“Someone threw it out their car window, and I don’t know what to do.” The last word comes out strung long, almost a whine, and she’d be embarrassed about it if she weren’t genuinely worried about the fluffy little thing in box. “Please tell me it’s okay?” 

There’s something about the way she says this that has Marianne’s eyes snapping toward her, and there’s a flutter to her expression Hilda can’t read. She can’t think clearly right now regardless, so it’s probably nothing. 

But then Marianne takes the kitten out of the box and holds it in her arms with a smile. “Don’t worry Hilda, I’ll take her to a room and give her a proper look over, it’s going to be alright.” She walked toward the door to the back rooms, but pauses a moment to look over her shoulder, “I’m glad you brought her to me - thank you.” 

Ashe is carefully making sure Hilda sits down in a chair, he’d noticed her trembling more than she really had. She’s sitting there, blinking owlishly at the door Marianne had stepped through, when he sits next to her with a box of tissues. 

Gratefully she takes one and blots at her eyes and tries to clean up her mess of makeup. She deeply appreciates Ashe’s quiet chatter as she leans back in her chair and tries to stop fretting. 

Ashe pauses for a moment in his stream of reassurances, considering his words carefully. 

“You know… you’re kinda like how I was when I found my first kitten.” 

Hilda turns her head slowly to look at his sweet, guileless, bright smiling face. And closes her eyes with a sigh. 

“Ashe, I love you to death, but that is not at all reassuring.” 

He laughs, and she smiles; somehow it’s unexpectedly comforting. “Linhardt saw me panicking about it, and helped me make sure it was okay.” 

“He was much worse than you are right now,” Linhardt chimes in from the back of the room where he’s doing... something. Probably responsibly putting everything in order for the end of day like how Ashe usually does when he isn’t having to help crying messes who’ve brought in rescued kittens. 

_ Oh. _ A slight blush warms Hilda’s cheeks. 

  
Well, maybe it was slightly comforting, considering those two have been together for ages, and how she feels about Marianne… 

But that’s not appropriate. And she’s trying to tell herself that, and that she’ll just take the cat to a shelter or something. 

But when Marianne confidently walks back into the room with a meowing kitten in her arms, Hilda knows she’s going to do absolutely no such thing. 

“This little girl is going to be just fine, she’s clear of all the basic feline worries, and I went ahead and started her on round one of kitten vaccines and shots. It seems like she was just in shock, and a little dehydrated.” Marianne is smiling at the kitten and at Hilda, who has stood up and walked over toward her. 

Hilda looks at Marianne, and back toward the kitten. She can feel herself smiling, but she’s still unsure, and she’s still angry at the people who did this. Her mouth turns into a strained line as she grimaces.

“I’m so glad she’s okay, and whoever did this is hideous. I just...” She lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Her shoulders slump, and she reaches out to run a finger gently down the kitten’s back. 

“Marianne, I have no idea how to take care of a kitten.” She’s blushing, and embarrassed, because that sounds ridiculous but it’s true. She looks up and meet’s Marianne’s eyes. “I’m serious, I’ve never had a pet before. I don’t know the first thing about it.” 

“Oh!” Her quiet exclamation is almost like torture, because Hilda is convinced that whatever good image she’d had in Marianne’s mind is gone now with that confession. But her hand is soft as it rests on Hilda’s arm, and her smile is sweet without a trace of judgement. 

Carefully, she maneuvers Hilda’s arms, and places the kitten in the safe cradle of her arms. 

“There, see? It’s not so scary as all that.” 

And as Hilda gives her a bashful, grateful smile, she swears she can see a blush spread across Marianne’s cheeks. 

“Why don’t I grab you some basic supplies for her? We keep extras in the back for our kennels and I trust you to bring them back once you’ve gotten your own.” 

She turns around to leave without waiting for an agreement, but before she can, Ashe waves her to stay, and slips in the back to gather everything necessary. 

“I’ve got it Marianne. I’ll grab everything Hilda needs.” 

Marianne and Hilda are standing close together, avoiding looking at each other by watching the kitten paw at loose stands of Hilda’s pink hair, when Marianne suddenly clasps her hands together.

“Hilda, I have a great idea. Why don’t I give you my personal number? That way you can text me any questions, and you can send me pictures of her whenever she does anything cute.” The smile on her face is warm and brilliant and Hilda can practically feel her brain melting. 

A kitten? Marianne’s phone number? What is happening today?

“Oh, that sounds wonderful. Thank you so much! Marianne, you’re the best,” is what she actually says though, thank goddess for that. 

The kitten in her arms is rumbling up a storm, and Hilda nestles it closer and looks at Marianne, happy but perplexed. “Is this normal? The purring so much?” 

“She probably already feels safe with you, you’re gonna be just fine.” 

Hilda feels herself blush for like the fourth time in the space of half an hour. “Oh, well that’s nice. That’s... That’s really nice. I’m going to take good care of her With you helping me, there’s no way this can go wrong.” 

Both women smile at each other, and it’s not long before Ashe brings out everything Hilda needs. She takes it with many, many thanks. Careful as before, she puts it all in her car, sighing as she sets the kitten back in its box and buckles it in before driving off with a wave to the clinic. 

“Well. This has been one hell of a day.” She sighs, “I can’t believe I finally have her number.” 

The kitten chimes in with a loud meow.

“You can say that again.” 

  
  


\---

Marianne is standing at the window of the clinic waving as Hilda drive away and with a blush on her face so warm she’s sure she could bake a tray of cookies just by turning toward them right now.

Ashe and Linhardt have wrapped up the closing duties for the night, and the place is ready to be locked up and they walk over to the door with her, both of them looking at each other conspiratorially. 

Linhardt simply sighs. “Caspar is going to be so giddy when he finds out what finally prompted you to give Hilda your number. Please don’t send him any pictures of the kitten Hilda sends you, he’s weak and we don’t need a fifth cat.” 

Marianne and Ashe laugh as Linhardt smiles quietly. 

“Someone has a cruuuuuush,” Ashe grins, happy for her.

Marianne smiles. “Yes, I think you’re right.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what to name the kitten.  
I genuinely have no idea. 
> 
> Also next chapter is either Lorenz/Ferdy or Leonie/Bernie and I can't decide which.  
Eventually we will get around to finding out what is happening with Byleth and Claude but first either a cute date or a meet-cute.  
We'll see!

**Author's Note:**

> The leopard seal story is a legit thing that happened to a diver, check it oooout
> 
> [here](https://www.npr.org/2017/06/06/531735345/polar-photographer-shares-his-view-of-a-ferocious-but-fragile-ecosystem)


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